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Fountain pens and ink?
mcnicks | Apr 30 2006
Another pen question! I have been experimenting with rollerball type pens and I just cannot settle with them. I have a terrible tendancy to squeeze my pens and place too much pressure on the paper, and anything that encourages me to do that is out. So I have decided to experiment with fountain pens. The first major stumbling block I have is being left-handed. That means I am likely to encounter issues with writing angle and with smudging. However, at least I know that fountain pens require much less pressure to write with, so I am willing to give a few a go. So far, I have unearthed an old fountain pen of mine and some even older ink. After a bit of a clean, it is writing fairly well and, as long as I keep my wrist rotated, I can write legibly without smudging everything. The main problem is that the profile of the pen, where the cap fits, requires me to hold it a bit too close to the nib, which pulls my posture in and brings my hand round to smudging territory. Its still nice to write with, though. I am now on the lookout for fountain pens that write well at different angles, and that are not averse to being pushed across the page by left-handers. I am also hoping that fountain pen inks may have improved over the past 20 years (yes, the last time I dabbled with fountain pens was when I was a teenager). Do any of you have any suggestions? David 72 Comments
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 Dear God, How I love...Submitted by a11en on May 3, 2006 - 10:33pm.
Dear God, How I love my fountain pens. :o I absolutely love Noodler's... for me, permanence is everything. I am a rightie, so I'll have less trouble than you do, most likely. A fine nib is what you want for sure... as well, you may consider a blotter. It's old-fashioned I know, but if you were to write and use the blotter under your hand as you get across the page, you may be able to kill 2 birds with one stone on this one. But, I haven't tried this. I've just heard about this. [I do have blotter paper and use it from time to time.] The old Spencerian writing manuals discussed blotter usage under the wrist lower on the paper as a support- kept skin oils off the paper most likely, as well as blotted any ink which was underneath (if not writing down the page). Noodlers flows like a dream, but can be slow to dry with a fine Pelikan or medium nib (wetter nibs). Moleskines have also unfortunately not really concerned themselves with paper quality of late, and you'll find some feathering there. [Wonder if they'd consider coming out with a higher-priced paper version?] From what I understand, Parker's quink ink was meant to be a quick-dry ink, used in the Parker 51 pens... which had their nibs enclosed, in an attempt to slow down evaporation while the ink flowed to the tip. Perhaps something like this setup would be good for you? I'm still on the look out for a good Parker 51, Aerometric is what you want, as they're pretty much bullet-proof. [the 51's are where it's at, BTW... of course there are other good modern day FP's as well...] But, I absolutely love my little Pelikan 150. Just wish I bought it online, as I would have saved half easily. BTW, the paper is extremely important. I grade my papers for work in the new noodler's Fox-red eternal ink. It's a bit pink, but it's a great red. Permanency being excellent in this use. I've found some students have paper which my pens (when they talk to me inside my head) call shear hell on earth... and others have paper which writes beautifully. Buying paper expressly for FP useage is also possible... I've just tried the Triomphe pads from Clairfontaine (Pendemonium is where I purchased), and it's fantastic. Amazing paper. Now, this may not be realistic for every-day use... but it's fun to know what things *could* be like if people cared about paper and ink these days. ;) Sorry to ramble... you hit a "love it" nerve with me... had to spill my guts out. ;) » POSTED IN:
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